Notifications app pulled from Windows Phone Store, details are murky as to why

It was just a few nights ago that Notifications, a third party app from Windows Phone Hacker, was cleared for the Store. The app filled an important gap on the OS, allowing a centralized area for app notifications and although it seemingly had mixed reviews, it was still an impressive first step.

Now we’re getting word that the app has been removed from the Store, meaning if you had paid for it you no longer have access to it...

Jaxbot, the developer behind the app is of course aware of its disappearance but is remaining mum on the matter only noting on his Twitter feed that he didn’t pull it and that he “can’t talk about it”.

If we had to read between the lines, it’s quite obvious Microsoft pulled the plug either because the app violated some aspect of the Store’s policies or perhaps because Microsoft has some other plans for their own Notification app (wouldn’t that be cool?).

For now though, if you have the app you’ll want to not uninstall it as there’s no telling if it will return at a later date. We’ll try to follow along to see if there are any further developments. If you have Notifications installed, what are your thoughts on it? Let us know in comments.

Too much money? You cheap bastage. See, this is the kind of attitude that causes societies and governments to collapes. Gimme gimme gimme. If the app did the job, then pay the developer for the good work. I'll bet you don't tip your waitstaff, either.

dude...chill! No need for insults
it's not that he said that he wanted the app for free.
when you consider the typical pricing of apps, $2.99 is in the middle to higher pricing tier. So yeah, I too thought that $2.99 is a little bit too much for me. And yes, I tip my waitstaff (*gasp*).

Umm, you need to relax. Its not about being able to afford $2.99 but about not seeing the VALUE in purchasing it for that price. I can afford an 8 dollar Sonic game but I don't think its worth it. I don't see the VALUE. Would you buy a cup of coffee for $30? No, didn't think so.

A lot of android users just want the defunct android notification bar because it's what they're used to. In that case, I'd say no, don't listen to the consumer. Something needs to be done about missed notifications, but it should NOT listen to bad user opinion.

A lot of people would like a single place to check all their notifications, and there's nothing wrong with that. There are plenty of conversations in the forums where several valid reasons have been provided that favor a notification center.

Don't get me wrong, I did say that something needs to be done about missed notifications, but a traditional notification center is not the answer.

The best solution is a live tile to show missed notifications, but ONLY for apps which you don't already have pinned to start. If you have an omni notification center, then all other live tiles will become irrelivent.

There are a lot of other problems with the traditional notification bar that android and iOS use, but I'll not bore you with them. Moral of the story- if we just gave android/ios users what they want for WP, it would undermine the whole system (and actually break it).

Not just for unpinned apps. A notifification center needs to show all the notifications that haven't been cleared, in order, and be accessible from just about anywhere, not just the home screen.
Having to check notifications app by app doesn't tell you why your phone buzzed in your pocket.
Having to go back to the home page to view notifications defeats the puprose also.

That's what the tiles are for, so no, that's dumb. It would be stupid to have a notification center that undermines the purpose of the tiles.

This is the kind of suggestion I hope MS doesn't listen to- because if there are live tiles and a notification center showing the same data, and clearing one doesn't auto update the other (and it won't), then one is going to be rendered useless.

WP uses the concept of tiles, and the only issue here is that you might not want to pin, say, ebay to your start screen, but you still want to see any missed notifications for it. So there should be one tile that displays a notification not already covered by an existing tile. Tiles are the philosophy, if you don't like it that's perfectly fine but you should seek another OS rather than trying to change the entire design philosophy to suit your needs.

In your concept, i turn on my phone and see a dozen tiles with numbers on them. Was it someone commenting on my facebook wall? Was it an important email? Was it a new move in Words with Friends? Was it a check-in via 4th and mayor? Only way to find out is to click on each one separately.

With a notification center, my phone buzzes, and when i get it unlocked, i take a look at the notifications, see that the most recent one was a check-in, and am done with it

Which one of those better fits WP8's "information at a glance" concept? Which one of those gets my phone locked faster?

How do you not know which one it was buzzing you?! When I get a buzz, my lockscreen will tell me if I have an email (from one of my 4 accounts), a text, a missed call, etc. I don't even need to unlock to see that.
What magic are you using to not see that?

If it is your turn in a game and the game isn't pinned or some other notification comes up but you don't want to clutter your home screen with everything on your phone, you come to realize you need a notification screen.
As others have stated - a slide left for the notification screen would be pretty gangster. ;)

I think my 'magic' would be if I was in an important meeting, or driving, possibly?
If I dont see the screen in time, and an app isn't pinned to the lock/home screen ... then I'd not know what caused an alert.

5 numbers on the lock screen doesn't tell me any more then 5 numbers on tiles. Sure, there are times when you can tell enough from the lockscreen, but not always. The benefit of a notification center is being able to see enough detail about the notification to decide whether to go into the app and do something about it, to clear it, or to leave it for later.

exactly. That drawer is one of the best features in android, and that's why ios lifted it almost directly. Saying windows phone shouldn't have anything like that because it's an android thing is like the idiots who say that the US shouldn't have quality public transit, education, or healthcare, "because communism!"

On my BB 9810, I could hit unlock button and know exactly how many fb, twitter, multiple email, phone call, vmail, texts, app updates, events and whatever else was set up. Just by looking at notification bar at top. I don't think Android had the market cornered on a designated notification bar. A phone is a communication device. Why would you not want to know when you have communications? And all in one place? And repeat reminders? I like the WP experience, but it does lack a lot as compared to BB and Android with notifications. I want my phone to let me know when I have missed something that may be very important, repeatedly.

Everything you claim here is exactly what I get when I unlock by screen, so the whole notification center is redundant. If you want this, simply make your "main screen" those 8 tiles and you have your "unified" notifications....different doesn't mean lacking, you just need to learn and utilize..

If you are just looking for the number of missed/unread items, WP displays up to 6 of those numbers on the lock screen, so you don't even have to unlock the phone to check for the most important stuff. And once you unlock it, the WP7.8 or WP8 start screen has more than enough space to fit all of those numbers you mentioned.
Your argument for a "counter center" is invalid.

Used and enjoyed it. Thought the price was reasonable as you can pay more for a game on Windows Phone and this app is a lot more useful. Games a re fun, but I have to leave my phone in the car when at work so having an interactive list of missed toasts is VERY useful.

So, Microsoft doesn't allow this kind of apps on the Store, but after it allows apps like CameraPro that crashes on most 8X, or some real buggy Xbox games on the Store. Seriously, this is my 3rd Windows Phone (LG GM750 -WinMo6.5- > HTC Trophy > HTC Titan > HTC 8X) but in 12 months, i will seriously consider other alternatives. They just seem completely lost

The OS just works, but my trust in Microsoft beggins to fade, day by day. It's just like, if they where improvising solutions for the platform problems each day (Google lack of support, delays in some app releases like Skype, they are not filling the app gap, the Store certification process is just a mess, WP 7.8 delays etc.), and focusing completely wrong where it just ins't any problem; like this one

Think it got pulled because of violating the Store rules and most of all, it didn't work quite as it should. Few people got it to work including me. Let's hope Microsoft will integrate a notification hub in a future WP8 update

I can see them integrating it into WP8, then telling us WP7.x users that it's not possible due to software limitations while at the same time blocking this app from coming back. That would be a jerk move but it's completely within their wheelhouse.

It didn't work. I'm sure that's why they pulled it. I'm hoping that's why it got pulled. It only worked for me for about 30 minutes. It would suck if MS pulled it because some college kid beat them to the punch.

"the people" are often wrong an believe in bullshit and fairy tales like communism or monotheism.

And as you correctly pointed out: the notification centre can quickly turn into an annyoing spam centre, which takes too much time to clean up and you are even more likely to miss the important notifications in that mess.

If you want to get a taste of it, enable Xbox notifications in your Games Hub and start playing AlphaJax - you will quickly find the Xbox Messaging center to be a fraking nightmare in which you delete friend requests and actual messages by mistake.

Now imagine what a disaster that would be if you had a dozen games flooding you with notices.

And do you know why Live Tiles are cool? Because when my WPCentral tile says "five" I don't have to delete five messages for it to go away.

If windows phone 8 wanted to make a huge splash upon release, this, along with so many other things, should have been included. Were going to have to start blackmailing app devs just to get what we want on here. Maybe even a gun to the fucking head.

WP8 was supposed to include a notification center but they ran out of time. Maybe MS is getting ready to roll it out? Hopefully they refund those who bought this already if it's not coming back since it was only available for a short time. They should comp the developer as well, he's sure to have made some money off of this.

i think you meant YOU dont need a notification center. you dont qualify to speak for everyone else when you say we. many people want one, you can look on uservoice.windowsphone.com to see how many people are voting on it. so if it's in demand then i think it should be in the OS. and android plus ios have notification centers than you grab at the top and pull down to see. if windows phone's notification was a swipe to the right to get to the notification center, is that not unique? it's certainly not the same as android or ios.

The problem with live tiles being the notification center is that it doesn't show more that one notification per app and some tiles need to show more info. But then the problem with live tiles itself is that you cannot see your notifications from anywhere besides the home screen. I wonder how Microsoft will go around this conundrum.